The Creator of Makeup Geek Explains Why Instagram-Famous Beauty Brands Are Becoming More Popular

Marlena Stell has a total dream story. She went from being a beauty blogger making popular YouTube videos to becoming the founder of Makeup Geek, a four-year-old makeup company that has over a million followers on Instagram and counts celebrity makeup artists like Jamie Greenburg and Ariel Tejada as fans. Like other Instagram-star brands, such as ColourPop, Makeup Geek's popularity is built on quality products at wallet-friendly prices: The company sells eye shadows for $6 each, brushes that start at $10, and blushes and contour pigments for $10.

The idea for Makeup Geek came to Stell back in 2008, when she was constantly reviewing products for makeup companies on her YouTube videos. "I noticed I was making sales for them, but I wasn't getting any commission—nothing from them but free products. And I was like, 'OK, well, free products aren't paying my bills.' I wanted to start my own line so I could have something more long-term to support myself, because at the time I was just teaching middle school and high-school band and choir," says Stell. "So I spent three years going to research labs, and I started selling eye shadows in 2011. And just based off the audience I had grown on YouTube, I was able to garner customers from that, and then each year I would sell eye shadows, and then that money would fund lipsticks and brushes, and I just gradually grew it over time until now we have a huge audience base, and we sell worldwide."

I spoke with Stell about why Instagram- and Reddit-famous brands like Makeup Geek are becoming increasingly popular, what it takes to create your own makeup brand, and what's coming soon from Makeup Geek.

It didn't take long for Makeup Geek to become popular. Why do you think the success happened so fast?

"I'm on YouTube, and our customers know I was one of the original ones on there, so I had kind of already established that relationship. I'm one of them, in essence. Makeup Geek is also really big in supporting other online influencers. We'll send them products, and we'll keep in touch with them. We'll help them get exposure when they first start out. I think they feel like we generally want to support them, so in return, if they love our products, they will want to talk about it."

It seems like companies like Makeup Geek and ColourPop are becoming more popular on social media. Why do you think that is?

"The standard companies that have been around for years—Nars and M.A.C. and all that—they don't really cater a lot to social media. They have their store or they sell in Sephora. And I feel like they haven't really embraced having an online presence as much, although they are starting to now. And so I feel like we're popular not only because we support their audience, but also because we support having the same quality of products for much less of a price. People want to buy our products because they are saving money, but they are still getting great quality. Also, a lot of companies are either run by men or by people who have been in the industry for so long that they aren't engrossed in the current trends. For me it's different because I am online. I'm on Instagram, I'm on YouTube, and I know what every other person wants. I'm able to pick up on new things that other brands just haven't picked up on. I think they are honestly out of touch."

How are you able to provide the same quality as high-end makeup brands and keep prices low?

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"I sell directly to customers. With other brands, they are putting their stuff in Sephora, and Sephora takes their cut, so they have to mark up their prices to cover overhead and staffing, and all that. But because we sell online—directly from the warehouse to the customer—we can kind of cut out that middle portion and save a lot of money in costs."

What makes your products more popular than a similar drugstore product?

"A lot of it is because the quality is just a little better, even though drugstore products have gotten better, but it's a color-selection thing, too. If you've noticed, when you go to the drugstore, they all have the same colors. It's all the same rose-brown, and the everyday pink. But with companies like Makeup Geek, ColourPop, and Jeffree Star, we're offering really fun and unique colors that no one else has and that you can't really find in drugstores. It's not the same old stuff we've seen over and over."

What's your advice for a beauty blogger who is looking to create a makeup brand like you did?

"Don't try to do what other people are doing just because you feel like it would work. You have to do soul-searching about what you think will work. Also, especially as you get more popular on YouTube, save your money and be really smart with it. Invest it in a long-term business plan. For me, I knew that Youtube wasn't going to be a huge pay cut for me forever, so I saved as much as I could in the beginning and put it toward starting a makeup line, because that's what I was passionate about."

Any chance you could give us some information about upcoming products?

"We're coming out with foundations that are amazing. I have a few different formulas coming out, and they are incredible. One's going to have a dewy finish, but it will be super-long-wearing, and one's going to be like a foundation stick that's really creamy, but it has antioxidants and natural ingredients in it that are good for the skin. The third one is going to have an oil-based formula, so all you have to do is use a few drops and it covers your full face. I have several lip products coming out. I have foiled lip glosses coming out that are going to have a regular lip-gloss formula but with a metallic texture, for the holiday season. There will also be a full range of lipsticks: One is creamy, and one is matte, but it's a creamy matte—it's smooth, but it dries matte."

One more thing: Where did the name Makeup Geek come from?

"It was actually from my ex-husband. He would always tease me because I would spend so many hours in Sephora, and I would just geek out all the time over makeup. And he would just always say, 'You're a makeup geek.' So when we went to look for domain names, that one was open."